New to the list: How to find an Interaction Design job

27 Mar 2006 - 4:43pm

Last reply:
9 years ago

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Dan Weese

2006

Hello all,

I am a C# developer in the Nashville area. After years of trying to instill interaction design principles into the company I work for, I have finally given up. This company develops software without ever consulting a single target user. The entire design process is left up the developers, and you can imagine what kind of product that turns out.

After going through a Cooper design course in 2003, I realized I was at the wrong company, but foolishly thought I could bring about change in the way we designed our products. Three years later, things have gone from bad to worse and I am looking for a new job.

My question is this:

How do I go about finding a company in my area that embraces the user experience and puts design as a priority in the development process? There are plenty of C# jobs out there, but I would like to focus on jobs where I could put my interaction design learning to good use, and hopefully turn my career from simply being a developer with UI skills to an interaction designer that also does C#.

Comments

29 Mar 2006 - 6:31pm

vutpakdi

2003

> How do I go about finding a company in my area that embraces the user experience and puts design as a priority in the development process?I think that the main trick would be to interview at those C# jobs, but
ask them what their development process is like and if they have any
interaction designers or usability specialists. If the company develops
horizontal market software or has examples on their website, you can
check out the interface to see if it's likely that someone other than
your average developer had a hand in the design of the software.

Unfortunately, one of the limiting factors may be the size of the
interaction design and usability job market in the Nashville area. My
guess is that you'd have more luck if you're willing to relocate a bit
(say to Atlanta).